Andy H wrote:

I didn't even see a report that he'd actually had it.
I guess we can only pray for excellent results.

After discovering that Ndudi Ebi needed glasses,
one might have thought that the Wolves would'
insist on eye exams for all new potential players.

ikrushlots@aol.com wrote:

Except of course, Ben Wallace. The Wolves were hamstrung
by McHale's blunders of previous years - which also includes
failures to pick up available big men (e.g. Dampier) , or draft them
(e.g. Patrick O'Bryant).


Ah, but are they better than Blount?


You want to hold up Toronto as an example of how
to build a team? Igor Ed must be ROFL.

And look again at Dallas. They're stocked with big men.
Moreover, IMO the biggest reason for Dallas' success last
year was that Nowitzki started playing like a big man and
got into the paint a *lot* more.


Except for last season, he's a never were. Comparable
to notables like Tyronne Lue, Mike Dunleavey, Rafer
"Skip to my Lou" Alston, and the Wolves own Troy
Hudson. Hope springs eternal though and I will give
him a fair shake in Minnesota.


And again, where would Blount and EG rate? The point is
that the Spurs keep going for big men to protect their
investment in Tim Duncan.


And why didn't Toronto keep him after his career year?
Perhaps they wanted some "talented perimeter players"
instead?


Starbucks. Bell's. And at the moment, Constant Comment.


I believe James was the backup plan. Banks was clearly in
"Show Me The Money" mode late in the season and the Wolves
didn't want to give him what he wanted.


Shouldn't we wait at least until the All-Star break?


Oh, KG recruiting for Gary Payton comes to mind.
There are others too. And I'm sure KG "campaigned"
hard for Cassell and Sprewell after the MV3 season.


I'll have to strongly disagree. Every year, the size of the court
relative to the size of the players decreases. Players that can
hold their ground and get the job done in the paint get increasingly
valuable. Height and strength just simply won't go out of style
for *championship* teams.


<grin> Congrats on taking corrective action.

levi wrote:

I think we both have already agreed that it's good the Wolves didn't go
after him.


Sure they are. However, that doesn't mean the Wolves should have
signed them. I've already established my position on trading for
Blount.



When the man who built Phoenix is building the Suns, I sure am.



Stocked? Dampier is so good he was sitting for big stretches of the
season. Diop is a nice role playing center, but not much more. They
are so "stocked" that Dirk played center much of last season.


I agree. It's too bad KG would do more of what Dirk was doing.


Why throw out last season???


None of those guys will ever do what James did last season.


They went for a guy that is no better than EG. It would have been
silly for the Wolves to sign him.


I followed Toronto closely last season, since I have a lot of family in
the area. Bosh and James didn't get along. He constantly grumbled
about James not passing enough. I guarantee you won't hear those
complaints from KG. He wants a guy that will shoot.

Also note that Houston, his former team, tried hard to get him back.
They even admitted it was a mistake to let him go in the first place.


The Wolves made it clear they did not think Banks was worth the risk of
a bigger contract. It was take it or leave it, and they treated him as
such. They put little effort in signing Banks.


Paid off in the sense that they got there man. Sure, we'll have to
wait and see the results.


I've read in the past that KG usually does not help recruit players. I
remember a comment that went something like "that's not my job". James
mentioned how big it was that KG wanted him here.


I took a look at the playoff teams, and only two teams stuck out as
having lots of quality bigs, Miami and Detroit. The game has changed,
especially with the new rules.


Who said you can't make a good thing even better . . .

I thought KG worked hard to convince Michael Finley to come here, and
was pretty disenchanted when he decided to sign with the Spurs.

So were the Spurs in the postseason. In retrospect it was better McCants got
to play more.

Jim Welters


in article 1158788735.621892.281540@k70g2000cwa.googlegroups. com, Andy H at
aharcus@msn.com wrote on 9/20/06 4:45 PM:

Jim Welters wrote:
Spurs. He's a bit long in the tooth, perhaps, to be a "savior".
Perhaps this year he'll be more accustomed to whatever his
role will be - which will almost certainly be different than what
he was in Dallas.

And yes, how soon we forget McCants. Regular readers here
know that I was not a fan of his and then with his surgery, I'm
figuring he's already pretty much washed up. I guess the Wolves
must think he's done too, otherwise why did they draft even more
"promising" guards (e.g. Foye)?

levi wrote:

Multiple reasons:

It can be debated (as we have), but many in the NBA believe the new
rules have made this a guard league. A guard like Gilbert Arenas, who
would have been a fine NBA player before the rules change, is now
playing at a superstar level.

Even if McCants fully recovers (which is a decent possibility if you
look at Kidd and Amare), they won't have him this season. They needed
an explosive guard and they can work on trades while McCants is out.

Following the "best talent" strategy. There was a good study I read a
while back (can't remember where) showing the folly in drafting for
need over talent. One obvious, extreme example is the Bowie/Jordan
draft. Portland didn't draft Jordan because they had Drexler.
Regardless, the team would have been better off with two great
perimeter players. Maybe the Wolves learned from the Avery debacle
that you draft by talent, not need.

Jim Welters wrote:

It did seem to help McCants. I wish they would have played Wright more
as well. And EG.

So is Wright going to get a roster spot? Will he have a role this year
other than garbage time? Has he run out of options in the development
league?